Boston

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien criticized Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks after remarks Cocks made about the toymaker's planned move from Pawtucket to Boston. In a radio interview, Cocks said Boston would offer employees more dining options and a better work-life balance, contrasting it with limited choices near Hasbro's century-old Rhode Island headquarters. Grebien called the comments "insulting" to the city, state, and employees who built the company, accusing Hasbro of prioritizing profits over the community that supported it for generations. He urged Hasbro to meet publicly with Rhode Island leaders and commit to continued investment in the state as the company prepares its headquarters relocation.

Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg's office is mailing letters directly to residents owed unclaimed money, a shift from relying on the "Find Mass Money" online database; officials stress the outreach is legitimate, not a scam. Separately, Wakefield and Quincy became the latest communities to drop Flock license-plate reader cameras over privacy concerns. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced the city is now proactively replacing street lamps before they fail, shortening its replacement cycle from 15 to 10 years. In Western Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey deployed the National Guard to help battle a 157-acre wildfire that crossed from New York into Williamstown; no homes are currently threatened.

In Florida's 25th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz and Republican challenger Scott Singer, both Jewish, debated their pro-Israel credentials at a Boca Raton synagogue forum ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. The two largely agree on Israel policy — opposing conditions on U.S. military aid and rejecting genocide accusations against Israel — but clashed over Moskowitz's vote for a war powers resolution on Iran and his past vote to keep Rep. Ilhan Omar on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Moskowitz cited his AIPAC endorsement; Singer touted backing from Trump and the RJC. The redrawn district, once Biden-leaning, now favors Trump, making the race a closely watched midterm battleground.

Former LAPD chief Bill Bratton has publicly warned LA mayoral candidate Nithya Raman against her campaign pledge to remove current Police Chief Jim McDonnell, whose term runs through 2030. Bratton, credited with reforming the LAPD and later leading police departments in Boston and New York, said ousting McDonnell could trigger a "mass exodus" from the force and called the move political posturing. He also criticized reports that Raman might replace McDonnell with George Gascón, the former LA County district attorney who lost reelection in 2024. Raman, aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, has wavered on the issue but has not disavowed her stance, drawing contrast with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's decision to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Springfield, Massachusetts, officials are debating whether to tap cannabis sales tax revenue to help fund a property tax relief program for lower-income elderly and disabled homeowners. The city collects a 3% local tax on cannabis sales, with 1% feeding an enterprise fund meant for neighborhood improvements near dispensaries; that fund now holds about $1.7 million after being depleted by a lawsuit settlement over a previously higher surcharge. City Council finance committee chair Zaida Govan and colleagues are exploring redirecting some funds toward the mayor's 2025 tax relief program, though doing so would require amending the cannabis ordinance. Some councilors also want neighborhoods near dispensaries, which face traffic and other impacts, to see direct benefits.

Lamar Cook, 46, a former deputy director of Gov. Maura Healey's western Massachusetts office who was fired in November 2025 after being arrested on cocaine and gun charges, now faces federal charges for SNAP and wire fraud. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley announced the charges, and Cook was scheduled to appear in Boston court.

Prosecutors allege that in April 2026 Cook applied for SNAP benefits claiming zero income and a household limited to himself and a minor child, failing to disclose that his fiancée and his mother lived with him, that his fiancée earned more than $80,000 annually, and that he had nearly $9,000 in the bank. His mother had also recently won about $1 million in the Massachusetts Lottery and allegedly sent him roughly $12,000 via Zelle. Cook received about $546 monthly in SNAP benefits, allegedly spending them at retail stores and during a July trip to Florida. Separately, the state mistakenly paid Cook roughly $22,000 for accrued vacation time after his firing and could not recover the funds.

Cook faces up to five years in prison for SNAP fraud and up to 20 for wire fraud. Healey, running for re-election, said she was glad federal authorities acted; her opponent Mike Minogue has seized on the case politically.

Boston city and federal officials are pressing the U.S. Postal Service to reopen the Allston post office, closed since 2019 for structural issues, after USPS reversed earlier plans to reopen it as part of an ongoing redevelopment project. City Council President Liz Breadon noted Allston-Brighton's roughly 87,000 residents have been served by only one branch for seven years, while Mayor Michelle Wu said the city is prepared to pursue legal action if USPS does not act.

The dispute extends beyond Allston: USPS plans to close the Fields Corner branch in Dorchester on Oct. 26 over a lease expiration, and has abandoned plans to reopen Watertown Square's branch. U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley and other Massachusetts Democrats, including Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, sent USPS leadership a letter calling the closures part of a pattern of using lease disputes as pretext to shutter branches, citing similar losses in Springfield, Shutesbury, Brockton, Medway and Mission Hill. Pressley alleged the closures reflect a broader push toward privatizing the Postal Service. Public comment on the Allston closure remains open through Oct. 11.

Federal prosecutors in Boston have indicted John Anthony Proia III, 41, of Waltham, Massachusetts, on cyberstalking charges. The indictment does not name the alleged victim, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed she is Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster married to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Prosecutors allege that between August 3 and September 23, Proia used multiple phone numbers to send more than 40 calls and texts to Miller using expletives and a "menacing tone," and also sent messages to her parents describing her husband in antisemitic and inflammatory terms. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force made the arrest, and Proia was released after an initial federal court appearance.

Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly condemned the conduct, and Katie Miller thanked him for the response. US Attorney Leah Foley said the defendant "repeatedly and relentlessly" targeted the victim and her family with "deeply disturbing communications" that "profoundly disrupted their lives." The case drew additional scrutiny after two FBI counterterrorism officials were demoted over handling of the investigation.